


Warmth

by Lady_Helsing



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-25 17:19:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14383356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Helsing/pseuds/Lady_Helsing
Summary: A collection of One Shots / Short Story around the relationship of Keith and Allura. Sometimes it's romantic and sometimes it's not.Not all stories will have a title.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> No Title.

The first time she had seen Keith without his shirt on was the first time he had put on the red armor. Well the long black under armor to be exact. The others had changed in the designated area, but Keith had walked out while still slipping the armor on.

Allura had watched as he quickly-effortlessly-slipped his arms through the sleeves and glided the rest of the fabric over his pale, athletic, torso. Lance had made some comment about ‘dressing in front of a lady,’ Keith being Keith only ignored him.

What struck her about that first moment was just how much he didn’t care. Pidge (for not so obvious reasons at the time) had insisted on changing in a closed room. Shiro, Keith and Hunk only needed to be shown the area, Lance only went when after casting her one of smiles. But the red paladin was the only one to come out without being fully dressed.

The sight of this didn’t make the princess blush or anything. No she wouldn’t say that. Really what had surprised her was just how… well, small he looked without his jacket or black shirt on. Yes he had some muscle, that was obvious, yet it was more a suggestion that they were there.

Also why did humans look so plain with no clothes on? Alteans didn’t just have those markings on their cheeks.

The second time she saw Keith without a shirt, she had been too tired to notice all the scars he had. It was when they were running from Zarkon before she’d been forced to admit he had once been the black paladin.

They had all been too wound up to sleep; she had decided to try locating something again when she past his room. He had left the door of his room open, saw her and called out to her. It startled her that time because she was half sleep. Keith was still just so calm about it too. She told him what she was doing; unlike Shiro-Keith didn’t tell her to rest, he just told her to be careful and not push herself. He was going to take a bath, but was disappointed to find out the ship didn’t have a bathtub (just standard showers).

That was when Allura told him about the pool. Oh how his eyes lit up at that. She didn’t stick around to see him off, only told him how to get there.

The third time… was very hard.

Shiro had just returned with Keith from the Mamora Base. The red paladin needed immediate medical attention. He could stand just fine at first, soon though his wounds began to hurt too much-not that he admitted it. Shiro had helped him remove that accursed Mamora armor right when Allura ran into the room. She only saw him from the back, but she could clearly make out every single fresh bruise, cut, and scar he had received there.

It wasn’t until both she and Shiro helped him into the pod, that the princess found out about Keith’s Galera blood.

She would forever feel so guilty for the way she had treated him.

The fourth time she saw him without a shirt was just before he left the team. She had originally gone to give him yet another piece of her mind. While she had been told the recent things Voltron had done, the shows, helping rebuild homes, giving food, and such wasn’t Keith’s thing-as leader this was his obligation. Not to run off with the Mamora every time they asked him too.

Alliances like the Blades were important too, but this was starting to get out of hand in her opinion.

She had thrown open the door the door to him room only to stop short when she saw him. Keith was laying on his bed completely passed out. He looked like he had been in yet another grueling fight. Okay he didn’t looked it, he had bandages on his ribs and an arm to prove it.

That was when she really got to look at him.

Keith always looked so much bigger to her in the armors or with his jacket on. Without them he just looked so small and venerable. Especially now.

While Allura had noticed the muscle definition to him it just wasn’t as obvious to the eye as it was on Shiro.

She didn’t know how long she was there or really why. The princess just looked at him. Watching him sleep without a care in the world. His small, yet firm, chest rising and falling as he breathed. Keith’s skin was so pale compared to the rest of the group, the deep scars on his sides and shoulders were paler still. A fresh deep purple bruise covered his right clavicle. There was something that looked like a blood stain on his left shoulder.

Allura looked at this and didn’t understand. She knew that when a girl saw a boy without a shirt she was supposed to swoon and have that flighty feeling in her stomach. Quizknack, she’d experienced that feeling a few times when she was younger and had seen her father’s troops training. But not once had she felt like that when she’d see Keith.

What she felt was a little curiosity bust mostly she felt fear. Fear for him. Keith was an aggressive fighter who didn’t bother to hide it. And that part of him only showed when he was fighting... or when he was the way he was now. Why did this hurt her so much?

She had seen all five of the paladins greatly injured over their time together. Yet every time she saw Keith with no shirt it was like an extra slap in the face.

Shortly after, she had left the room.

That was the last time she saw him without a shirt.

There are still times when she finds herself wondering just how many bruises or cuts he has gained since then. Or what others he might be hiding.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura ponders alone in her room after Keith leaves the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps this is more of a drabble? It's very short.

Allura sat on her bed, the events of the past few hours weighing heavily on her mind.

Shiro had done it. He had reformed his bond with the Black Lion and it almost seemed like the team was whole again. Shiro was far more diligent in what the team needed than Keith had been, this would likely be far better for the team in the long run.

It wasn’t that Keith had done a bad job as leader. Sure it got off to a rocky start yet it worked itself out. The problem had been in the different leadership styles. Allura had been trying for weeks to make Keith focus more on helping build the coalition, but he’d never really been on board doing the small important things that needed to be done. Acts of charity and the shows to boost moral... it wasn’t his thing. Shiro had been for it (from the sidelines) from day one.

Keith was a man of action but Allura wouldn’t call him a show off. And in a way, that’s very much what they did at these shows, they showed off. It got the crowds excited and brought far more allies and resources to Voltron than fighting alone could. While he had acknowledged that; he still made it clear he wasn’t...what was the term? A show pony.

At first that’s what she thought drove him closer to the Blades of Mamora. And maybe it was. She learned early on that if Keith didn’t want to do something it was very hard to convince him otherwise.

And now he was gone. He had left them to join Blades of Mamora in earnest.

Shiro was already busily preparing more acts of charity, chivalry, and shows with Coran and Lance.

Allura was torn on how she felt.

On the one hand, Shiro was what the team needed right now as a leader. Someone who was both good on that battlefield and with diplomatic matters. He had more than proven himself on both fronts.

On the other… Keith was now in the hands of Blades of Mamora. True they were powerful allies who the team relied heavily on. Still Allura had seen how they treated their own when things got dodgy. She was afraid for lost paladin and what they might do to him. Or not do.

As things stood the princess had no idea when she’s see him face to face. There was a real fear that she may not see him again…

Her other fear was when she saw him again… she wouldn’t recognize him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Title.
> 
> Just quick notes, Keith hasn't told the team about his mom. Lotor has no idea Keith is half Galra.

Months had passed since the Blades of Mamora had directly interacted with team Voltron.

While the real cause was never specified, everyone quietly knew the reason was Lotor. Since his involvement with team Voltron had grown, the blades made sure to keep their distance. They had no idea if this prince... this new emperor would be a good one or not. If the blades had their way, they wouldn’t even have come to this meeting. But in truth, they needed to come.

For starters the coalition still had its mission to rid the universe of Zarkons influence. A good portion of the Gala still did not accept or even acknowledge Lotor as their new emperor. This fact surprised no one. However, the Galra who were out there retaliating where becoming a huge problem.

Allura stood on the shoulder of the Blue Lion, watching as the ships carrying her allies began to land safely. She knew each and every ship that was landing, knew exactly who was on board, yet she still hadn’t seen the exact one she was searching for. Of course it was entirely possible that the blades had already arrived and no one knew.

“Allura!” The princess looked down to see Hunk smiling up at her, “Come down! He just arrived with the others.”

Trust Hunk to not only find her but know exactly who she was looking for. “Thank you!”

* * *

 

Lotor stood on the balcony looking own at the small group of six or seven members of the Blades of Mamora. He had heard of them, seen what they could do even, and bore no ill will. It was only natural that groups of rebels such as this would be created out of the rule of a tyrant like his father. And he wouldn’t be lying if he admitted allowed he was even glad this group was still going around the empire and uprooting the traitors they found. Even if it wasn’t for his benefit.

His eyes landed on the human one. The one the paladins called Keith.

This boy… he had been a paladin of not one but two of the lions. Red and Black. Yet he left Voltron to work with the Blades of Mamora? He couldn’t understand that.

From what he had been told, Keith was an excellent pilot, aggressive fighter, a good friend, and something of a loner. Perhaps that was it? He left the team because he preferred to fight alone. Wait no that didn’t make sense either. Blades of Mamora acted in teams most of the time.

The former paladin must have sensed him watching because his head slowly turned to Lotor’s direction. Keith’s dark eyes looked almost through Lotor; it unnerved him.

“Keith!” Hunk called as he and the princess entered the room. The Yellow Paladin trotted over and gave his friend a hug-lifting him off the floor. “You never call! I’ve been worried about you!”

“Gah! Hunk I can’t breathe!” Keith protested with a smile.

Lotor’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he watched this exchange.

Hunk set his friend down, grinning but his smile quickly faded. “Dude what happened?!”

“Keith?” Allura’s eyes widened when she saw it too. On the right side of Keith’s jaw was a long scar that went from cheek to halfway down his neck.

“I got it during a mission… that’s all.” He responded uncomfortably. Two of the other blades behind him exchanged glances behind their masks.

The princess came closer to him, “Are you alright? It’s looks terrible.”

“I’m fine. Really.” He gave her his best (worst) reassuring smile, “Lets just get this over with.”

Lotor had seen the worry all over the princess’s face. He’d seen her be afraid and concerned before but not like that. He wondered if anyone else had noticed the subtleties of it in her face the way he had.

* * *

 

That meeting had taken far too long in Keith’s opinion. He’d never really liked them to start with. All the formalities and pointless chatter between what really needed to be discussed was nauseating. Almost as nauseating as the eyes that had been fixated on him, or father his scar.

Okay maybe nauseating wasn’t the right word. Annoying was more like it.

He had fully prepared himself for the questions he was going to get from his friends. It was the looks he hadn’t been prepared enough for.

The entire time he could feel their eyes on him. Even after he shot them a glare and put his mask put so they couldn’t see his face. It bothered him how they stared at him like he might just fall apart.

As soon as the meeting was over, he got out of that room faster than anyone else. He came to support and talk to his friends, not be stared at for something stupid that he had done.

Now he stood outside in the fresh air among the large alien trees that inhabited the planet. God how he missed being surrounded by nature. Space was beautiful and there was something deeply humbling about being surrounded by a sea of stars. But this, THIS, was what he enjoyed most. The quiet, the peace, the sounds of nature.

“Keith?”

He turned to see Allura. Although he had fully expected Shiro to find him out here first, the princess had obviously been faster.

Allura walked over to him, stopping only a foot away. “You left the room so fast...”

“I couldn’t stay in there any longer.”

She frowned, “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” He raised a brow. She hadn’t been the one staring at him the whole time, hell he was practically right behind her so there was no way-.

“That we made you uncomfortable.” Her eyes darted to the scar before she made herself look him in the eye. “It’s just… we didn’t know you’d been hurt. You hardly tell us anything about when you go on missions or come back from them.”

“I’m not supposed to tell you when I go on them,” Keith reminded her. “And it’s like I can just make a phone call or send a text to you all at any time either.”

The princess had long gotten used to these earth sayings. She’d figured out what a phone call was-she’d have to ask Pidge or Hunk about this text thing. But Keith was right. She knew he couldn’t just talk to them whenever they wanted.

His gaze moved from her to the buildings in the back, “How’s the team been?” He was trying to change the subject.

“It’s not the same without you,” she steps closer.

“And Lotor? Do you trust him?” Keith couldn’t find a reason too.

“I do not know. There are times I trust him and others I don’t.” Looking down she continued, “Lotor hasn’t done anything to make us distrust him. He’s been surprisingly helpful in helping the coalition… helping me. I think his intentions are honest ones.”

That didn’t make him feel any better or worse about Lotor being around his friends. Granted he didn’t know the prince-the emperor at all but something about him did not sit right with the former paladin. “I’ll keep tabs on him.” He found himself saying the words allowed.

The two stand there in silence while the forest around them buzzes with the sounds of twilight.

Keith closes his eyes, enjoying this small moment. He missed Allura. Apart from Shiro, and maybe Hunk, Allura has been the only one who’d understood how much he enjoyed the quiet. Something of which he was grateful for.

“Keith.”

He opened his eyes, startled to see the princess _right in front of him_. “Princess?” Keith went stiff as a board the moment her hand touched his cheek. He felt her trace the scare with her fingers before she cupped the side of his face with her hand. Catching his breath and clenching his jaw, his gaze never left her.

The pain in her eyes was devastating.

“Keith what are they doing to you?” She asked helpless.

“This wasn’t their fault; it was my own stupidity.” He looked away from her, “I misjudge the distance between two lower soldiers is all. One of my teammates has a salve I’ve been putting on it to help it heal faster.”

“Come back with us. I know you want to be a part of the Blades of Mamora, but-”

He looked at her wide-eyed, “And just what the hell would I do if I returned to the castle? If I left the blades now, then I wouldn’t be able to go on missions with them. And I can’t help the team out with anything as it is. Red belongs to Lance now and we both know the Black Lion was never mine to begin with. _I left the team_. Remember?”

“I do remember.” She glared, “But you can always come back to us. You might not be able to pilot the lions but there are other things you can do. I know you’re not one to sit by while others do things, but I don’t want to see you severely hurt or even-”

“Allura. _Stop._ ” He glared back at her before stepping away. This scar on his face was not the worse of his injuries. She didn’t know about his fractured ribs, the bruises he lost count of, or the long twisted scar across his lower back. “I made this choice. I’m better at this. I don’t ask you to understand, I don’t even care if I have your approval or not at this point. I came back to see how the team was doing, not be lectured about what I do.” Keith turned and briskly walked away from her.

“Keith!”


End file.
